This picturesque fishing port on the west coast of Istria has much to offer. The town was originally an island. During the 18th century, it was connected to the mainland by filling in the channel. Over the last few decades, Rovinj has become one of the most famous tourist destinations in Croatia and attracts large numbers of tourists every year. See the relics of Saint Euphemia, interred in the church at the top of the hill that dominates the entire city. Euphemia was a Christian lady, daughter of a Roman senator, who was arrested for refusing to offer sacrifices to the god Ares. After suffering various tortures, she was sentenced to death in the gladiatorial arena at Chalcedon, having been killed by a lion, becoming one of the first Christian martyrs, a saint in both catholic and Orthodox belief.
This Croatian town is webbed with tangled cobbled streets, small squares, and beautiful houses tightly crowded down to the seafront, highlighted by the tall church tower that rules over the skyline and gives the city its characteristic glow.